Martin Waldseemüller

1470-1521

Priest-professor in the duchy of Lorraine, now in northeast France, Waldseemüller is credited with naming the New World America. In the introduction to his 1507 world map, Waldseemüller wrote about the new lands described by Amerigo Vespucci and proposed that the new continent be named for the alleged discoverer. Waldseemüller then printed the word America in the region of South America on two maps made to accompany this work.